The Fist of Friendship
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: In Mineral Town, new farmer Mitchel Blaze meets Karen at Mineral Beach with turbulent waves under a night sky. Both of them reflect over bits and pieces of their childhood, which apparently involved a shared love of a classic fighting game...


_Disclaimer: I don't own Natsume, nor the game they make called Harvest Moon. And... Rock slacked off somewhere, so he isn't my Disclaimer Jockey yet..._

_ And "Street Fighter 2" is Capcom's Property. Even though the names and things are considered ficticious to the people in this story, I might as well add this in as well.  
_

* * *

One fine night in peaceful Mineral Town, its reputed beauty, Karen, happened to be sitting at the beach, watching the stars. 

The long-haired boyish blonde never really understood why it was the sights of the stars and the waves fascinated her so much, but she always kept coming back for more of the same. Her lax, evergreen eyes remained glued to this relaxing sight for moments on end.

The night wasn't a calm one for the ocean; however. Its waves were great and furious from afar. They were practically roaring, yet Karen was too preoccupied with its beauty.

"Heh. The roaring of waves is like the cry of a fighter's spirit. It's a very nostalgic feeling, don't you think?" a voice called out.

"Yep. It sure is." Karen replied.

She turned around to meet her visitor and greeted him with a hearty grin.

The young man before her had short, raven black hair and notable sapphire eyes. He wore a loose, light-blue jean jacket over a casual white t-shirt along with matching jean pants. Around his neck was a handkerchief with a flame pattern. He also happened to be carrying around a red i-pod at the moment, listening to who-knows-what. Apparently, this young man was Mitchel Blaze, the very guy who became Mineral Town's new farmer.

"I wasn't expecting to see you around here, Mitch." Karen grinned.

"Well, here I am." Mitchel replied.

**Harvest Moon:**

**The Fist of Friendship**

The new farmer decided to join Karen at the beach. While he was able to get comfortable, he stared at the stirring ocean with discomfort.

"…Are you sure it's a good idea staying around here? Those are pretty high tides…" Mitchel voiced in concern.

"I wouldn't worry. They haven't been washing ashore with that intensity for awhile. Just be thankful Mineral Town isn't known for having a Tsunami Season." Karen replied.

Mitchel sighed. "The crashing waves are still making me nervous. I'm just gonna turn on my little doohickey." He said when he started up a song on his i-pod while placing in a pair of earphones.

"There, is that better now?" Karen asked in a fairly loud voice, hoping to speak over the music.

Mitchel nodded. "It's not turned up that high, but yes. I think I understand what you're doing here, now. Without the unsettling sound, this is a great view!" he grinned.

The two continued watching the tossing and turning waves side by side as the crescent moon shone in the night sky. Karen simply sat to enjoy the view while Mitchel drummed on his knees to an upbeat rhythm.

"…Say, Mitch. There's been something I've been meaning to ask you…" Karen said.

Mitchel removed an earphone and looked at her curiously.

"Yes?" he answered calmly.

Karen then gave him a funny look.

"You've been good friends with Mary recently, right? Well, why don't you have any feelings for her? I swear, if this were the Mitch that I remember sitting right in front of me, you'd be all "super-happy" ecstatic right about now!" She remarked.

"WHAT?!" Mitchel exclaimed.

"Oh, come on. That librarian girl's just like the type of girl you like! You always had a thing for the shy, polite ones. Like that Leanne girl from Junior High? The one with the short auburn hair and bluish eyes?" Karen smirked.

Mitchel's cheeks turned slightly red out of his past humiliating memories.

"W-well… it wasn't like you do any better with your feelings! Remember that first time you stood up for me? Or how about that guy that used to sweet-talk you so easily! There was even that Social Studies teacher that you always---"

Karen let out a panicked cry.

"Okay! Okay! I give!" Karen exclaimed.

"Thank you…" Mitchel groaned.

"But, seriously… what's with the lukewarm relationship with Mary back there? I think she's taken a seriously liking to you and everything. It's the perfect chance!" She advised.

Mitchel turned his head to the side with a contemplative look. After coming to a conclusion, he turned back and faced Karen with a composed face.

"… I like somebody else." He said in a serious tone.

"Really? Well, I don't know any docile, elegant maidens in this place. Care to tell me who I missed?" Karen asked.

Mitchel groaned. "I'll share when it starts making more sense…" he said, his mind wandering back to when he saw an unexpected side of a pink-haired girl with ruby eyes.

Karen shrugged. "Okay, fine. I'll wait. But I'm going to know eventually." She grinned.

"Just to warn you in advance, it's not you." Mitchel chirped.

Karen nodded. "Well, yeah. I already figured that. You're as easy to read as a book when it comes to this sort of thing. I'll just have to be patient until you falter. But… I'm still thinking it's a shame you and Mary aren't hooking up anytime soon" She taunted.

Mitchel nearly collapsed there. His mind still reeled from the awkward memory when his feelings for Leanne were exposed to a younger Karen. He then placed an earphone back in his empty ear and resumed listening to his music.

"By the way, what song are you listening to right now? I never did get your taste in music yet…" Karen asked.

"Oh, I'm actually listening to music from that "Street Fighter 2" game I used to play. Remember Ken, the guy with the red outfit? It's supposed to be the theme from his main stage." Mitchel answered.

"Huh, "Street Fighter 2" you say? Man, that sure takes me back!" Karen said.

Mitchel looked at her with intrigue. "Oh, right. That was you who kept challenging at that game, wasn't it?" he grinned. "I always used to choose Ryu, and you would always play against me as Ken. Pretty fitting characters, considering they're rivals who used the same attacks."

"Wait? "Ruu"? I thought his name was "Rai-yoo." Karen said.

"No. It's pronounced " Ree-yoo." The long e sound is blended in with the last syllable, so it's nearly silent." Mitchel corrected. "Don't worry. I learned it sometime after you moved here, and it's a common mistake amongst familiar players, anyway." Mitchel corrected.

Karen chuckled. "You and your technicalities. That still doesn't change the fact that I used to wipe the floor with you at it so much."

"What are you talking about? By what I remember, we actually had plenty of close matches! Most were even draws! Besides, I recall you mashing buttons the first few games, and I beat you easily!" Mitchel argued.

"Well, at least I figured out all the special moves before you did! Geez, some random challenger always in and wiped the floor with you in seconds because they can pull out all that fancy stuff…" Karen argued back.

Mitchel smacked the sound with a fist. "Damn it! I went through life SIX WHOLE YEARS OF MY LIFE without knowing how to throw a frikin' fireball or anything! Do you realize how stupid I felt when I finally saw the little display below the screen showing the motions? And that was when I was playing one of those "Alpha" games! Seriously, what the hell?!" he griped.

At that point, Karen cracked up in a fit of laughter, while Mitchel still grumbled from frustration.

"Hey, at least you finally came back with a vengeance after sporting some new moves." Karen said as she pat her old friend on the back.

"Yeah. I'm still amazed you always favorite Ken from the beginning. Most girls and beginners would usually choose Chun-li just to abuse her rapid button kick thingy." Mitchel noted.

"Interesting that you noted that. There were these times where I went to the arcade alone to blow off some steam and waste some quarters, and some of these "elitist"-type punks would come in and ask me about that. I always said the same thing back to every single one of them." Karen recalled.

"Really? What did you say?" Mitchel asked curiously.

"It was a simple routine. I always said I had a good friend who always chose Ryu, so I would always Ken, and that it was a sign of respect for our rivalry and friendship." Karen explained.

"Is that so?" Mitchel replied with a pleased smile.

"Well, that… and Ken was pretty much all kinds of cool to begin with. He always appealed to be as the more tenacious of the two karate guys. I'm surprised you didn't catch on." Karen finished.

"Hey, a spontaneous guy can always appreciate the wise warrior every once and awhile, right?" Mitchel retorted.

Karen then slowly picked herself up.

"Okay then, "wise warrior". Let's just see what you're made of." She teased.

Mitchel stared at Karen in confusion.

"What?" He asked uneasily.

"Come on. It's been too long since we've done this. We're gonna have at it. No video games with any crazy moves here, this is for real…" Karen smirked.

"Hold on… are you saying you wanna _physically_ spar with me? But… we haven't done that since you taught me some self-defense against bullies! What are we going to accomplish with this?" He demanded to know.

"You have to admit, Eight years is a long time to be separated. Let's just consider this an evaluation." She explained.

Noting the determination in Karen's eyes, and the uselessness to resist, Mitchel decided to stand up as well.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Mitchel blatantly stated.

Karen gestured back with a thumb up.

"Yep, and proud of it!" She bragged.

Mitchel groaned long and hard.

"Fine. But I'm going to switch to more appropriate music." Mitchel said.

He then adjusted his i-pod to play the "Street Fighter 2" theme.

"Just a note of warning to you: I had training in some real martial arts since we last met on the battlefield." Mitchel announced.

"Really? Well, good for you! Now you get to look that much cooler when I wipe the floor with you!" Karen taunted back.

The roaring waves intensified as the two longtime friends got ready for combat. Their clash was inevitable.

Before the bout, both combatants stood side by side and touched knuckles before backing off and getting into fighting stances. The two longtime friends exchanged meaningiful glances. Fire seemed to burn within both of their eyes as the atmosphere around them became more turbulent. Finally, both of them nodded at each other in acknowledgement.

Simultaneously, the challengers rushed towards each other to initiate a match that only they comprehended…

* * *

_Author's Notes: And so, the Farmer and the "Hot Chick" end the story by beating the crap out of each other?_

…_That, my readers, is why this is possibly the strangest fanfiction I ever wrote… and it's not even a humor fic._

_Seriously, the concept just sort of popped up in my head in this exact why. I'm just not even going to question why._

_On another note, I would have to admit that Karen has an uncanny roughness that makes me feel she could handle herself in a fight. And… I guess the imagery of Karen being a "Street Fighter" expert sounded cool._

_Unfortunately, I heard Karen was a real bitch in Hm64. Can't say that I've played it, though._

_Anyway, that's it. I'm going to try and finally go back to Cinder Gina, because it's been abandoned for so long. Who knows when it'll be updated, though._

_:: Listens to Ryu's theme::_


End file.
